The Gorontalo Traditional Craft Skills and Proficiency are Karawo, Binthe Biluhuta, Upiya Karanji, Ilabulo, Tiliaya, and Bili'u.
Figure 1. Karawo (Photo: Genpi).
Karawo is a traditional cloth typical of Gorontalo whose manufacture is the result of handicrafts. Karawo has been around since the 1600s long before the Dutch colonized Gorontalo to be precise in 1889. This craft is thought to have emerged from the creativity of women in Gorontalo to fill their spare time.
Figure 2. Upiya Karanji
Upiya Karanji is a cap or songkok or skullcap used by the people of Gorontalo since ancient times. Upiya Karanji is made of woven Mintu Tree (a type of rattan) that grows wild and thick in the forest, spread across the Gorontalo peninsula.
Figure 3. Bili’u (Photo: Gorontalo Unite).
Bili'u is an oversized traditional dress, which is worn by the bride. Bili'u implies that the girl becomes a bride, is appointed and crowned as the Queen of the Household. Bili'u consists of Baya lo Boute, Layi-layi, Ponge-Mopa, Pangge, Tutuhi, Huli, Duungo-Bitila, Huwo'o, Taya, Rumbai-rumbai, and Bo'o Tunggohu.
Figure 4. Binte Biluhuta (Photo: Siti Winarni).
Binte biluhuta is a typical food of the people of Gorontalo. This food is a soup consisting of corn, fish or shrimp mixed in such a way to produce a very delicious menu. Binte biluhuta has three distinctive flavors, namely sweet, salty, and spicy. Binde biluhuta has existed since the conflict of kings in the 15th century. The dispersed corn is analogous to kings fighting. But when the shelled corn is mixed with spices and produces a delicious binde biluhuta, that's where this food becomes the unifier between the fighting kings.
Figure 5. Ilabulo (Photo: Arfandi Ibrahim).
Ilabulo is a dish of sago flour containing a mixture of chicken eggs, liver gizzard, chicken and beef, then seasoned with spices and wrapped in banana leaves. Ilabulo symbolizes a word "totobowata" which means united. Ilabulo is a special dish served when the kings agreed to stop the fighting and choose to make peace.
Figure 6. Tiliaya (Photo: Yulianti Humonggio).
Tiliaya is a traditional Gorontalo food made from local ingredients, namely eggs, palm sugar, grated coconut milk plus spices such as pandan leaves, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. Tili'aya is the food of the kings that has been known since the 15th century, it is also the name of one of the daughters of King Ilato who also lived in the 15th century. Princess Tili'aya together with her brother Ntoba became a symbol of the struggle against the Portuguese.